http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/032514.cfm
The Annunciation of the Lord, Solemnity
The event celebrated
by today’s feast has been captured in countless paintings depicting the
archangel Gabriel’s visit to Mary inviting her to be the Mother of God.
According to the letter to the Hebrew’s, however, it also celebrates the Lord’s
willingness to enter the world as a human being in fulfillment of God’s will.
There is much to
meditate on for our own life. First of all, God calls each of us to a life’s
task or vocation. Mary is a model
for how to respond. Naturally, she had concerns and fears. She discerned
whether Gabriel’s invitation was God’s call and not. Luke’s Gospel says that
she was greatly troubled, she pondered, she asked. These are all natural and
wise responses. When Mary realized that Gabriel was truly a messenger of God,
she responded fully and wholeheartedly. We are no different. Whatever our own
call in life, we need to discern that it is truly what God wants for us. And
what God wants for us is always our full flourishing as human beings. It is
also a call to be “for others,” that is, to work for the full flourishing of
others, according to the vocation that is ours.
The phrase, “I come to
do your will” moves like a thread throughout today’s readings and prayers. Living according to God’s will is
living in right relationship with God and cooperating with the “dreams” that
God has for each one of us. Mary cooperated with God in bringing Jesus Christ
into the world as Emmanuel, God-with- us. Lent is a good time to ponder and
discern how God is inviting us to cooperate in the building up of the Body of
Christ in our own time, in our little corner of the world.
Sr. Judith M. Kubicki, CSSF
Associate Professor of Theology
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